I am a rocket scientist by qualification, sociologist, historian and linguist by passion, hotel consultant by profession,  bullshitter by occupation, a womanizer by prevarication, an author by emancipation, and a poet by fascination. 

In addition, I'm also suave, sophisticated, charming, intense, magnetic and witty. By now you've surely guessed that modesty is one of my many virtues...

I'm sure that by now you've undoubtedly figured out what I really do for a living... I'm a celebrated fiction writer and can spontaneously churn out unlimited amounts of witless trash like this on demand...

Then again, what is the real point of existence?
 

LIFE, EDUCATION & DRUDGERY:
1979 Born in Bombay, India
1980-1996 grew up in Muscat, Oman
1996-2003 studied in Mumbai, India
2003-now living in Dubai, UAE
 

FOOD I LOVE:
Chocolate, Italian, Chocolate, Malaysian, Chocolate, Chinese (not Indian-Chinese), Chocolate, Tex-Mex, Chocolate... In short, I'm a foodie and a chocaholic... I'll eat anything chocolatey or anything VEG. Very open to trying new cuisines and tasting food from different cultures...
 

FOOD HIGHLIGHTS:

SAJ: The first time I tried Saj was in October 2006. Can't stop trying every different type of Saj whenever I get a chance!

ALOO PARATHA'S ANCIENT ANATOLIAN ANCESTRY: (Was that alliterative or what!) While traveling in Asia Minor in Dec 2006 - Jan 2007, I discovered the ancient origins of the ubiquitous Indian "Aloo Paratha" in an unknown Anatolian Village in Turkey (Contact me for the entire story and history and geography and some pics!)

ACTIVITIES:

GEOCACHING: My bounty hunting exploits in UAE & Oman are now logged on www.geocaching.com (look for my profile there under the ID rpgazder).

SUMMER 2008:
Planning to take the Trans-Siberian railway from St.Petersburg to Ulan-Bator & maybe onward to Beijing. Contact me if you're interested in joining. For more, visit www.trans-siberia.com

FALL 2009:
Lived on an island called Petit-France in Strasbourg. Traveled southwards along the River Rhine just west of the French-German border, drove from France through Germany and then diagonally through Switzerland starting at Basel then southeast across the lake district and alps towards Lugano and ended up at Lake Como in Italy. Passed Milan and onward to the Dolomites very close to the Slovenian border. Breakfast in France, lunch in Germany, high tea in Switzerland and dinner in Italy. Visited one of the 3 most ancient cathedrals in Europe and met a mallu shopkeeper in Zurich!

SUMMER 2010:
Planning to fly el cheapo (by Air Arabia) to Casablanca, then by bus to Tangiers, cross the Straits of Gibraltar, spend some time in Andalusian Spain, go upward to Basque country and the Pyrenees in the South of France, explore the birthplace of early para-Christian cults all over the Languedoc till we reach a friend's chateau on the Atlantic coast. And then find my way back home.

SOON:
Skydiving in UAQ (watch this space for an obituary soon!).

INTERESTS:

GENERAL:
Eating out, reading, illusion, con artistry, world history, minesweeper, bank robbery, music, quizzing, magic, puzzles, movies, the occult, forensics, relationship psychology, philosophy, art & art history.

OUTDOORS:
Love nature, animals, places with great natural vistas, outdoor & nature activities whether it's hiking, trekking, rock climbing, cycling, traveling etc.
 

MUSIC:

HIGHLIGHT OF 2009:
13 February - Iron Maiden in Dubai Media City (for the second time)
6 March - Motorhead, Opeth, Chimaira & Arch Enemy at Dubai Desert Rock '09

HIGHLIGHT OF 2008:
22 May 2008 - Scorpions Humanity World Tour at Dubai Festival City Amphitheater (for the second time)

HIGHLIGHT OF 2007:
I saw Iron Maiden live at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival on 9 March 2007. This was the defining moment of 10 years of my life in music.

RECENT DISCOVERY:
Independent finger picking acoustic guitarists like Andy McKee, Antoine Dufour and Don Ross.

NON-ROCK/METAL DISCOVERY:
Came across 800 year-old Rumi/Sufi Mystic chanting & whirling dervishes in Turkey.

FAVORITE BANDS/ARTISTS:
Iron Maiden, HammerFall, Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Scorpions, Bruce Dickinson, Manowar, King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Sinergy, Rainbow, Rush, Dio, Ayreon, Stormwitch, Black Sabbath, Therion, Blackmore's Night, Dokken, Doro, Pink Floyd, Dee Snider, Enya, Falconer, Green Carnation, Halford, Jacob's Dream, Lana Lane, Erik Norlander, Megadeth, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Blue Oyster Cult, Skyclad, Thy Majestie, WASP, Warlord, Wishbone Ash, Yanni...

I can go on and on... Genres I prefer hard rock, old school, NWOBHM, prog, atmospheric, experimental... for more look here.

ENTERTAINMENT:

PRESENTLY WATCHING:
Two And A Half Men (Season 5)
The Big Bang Theory (Season 3)
Lie To Me (Season 1)
FlashForward (Season 1)
24 (Season 8)

ALL TIME FAVORITES:
24
That '70s Show
Frasier
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Star Trek: TNG
 

MOVIES:

This can be an endless list since I love movies. Some movies that touched me the most were:
- Life is Beautiful
- Schindler's List
- The Shawshank Redemption
- The English Patient
- The Others

OUTSTANDING MOVIES I SAW IN 2006-2007:
- Blood Diamond
- The Illusionist
- The Number 23
 

READING:

Mainly non-fiction, biographies, travel writers, short stories, science fiction. Not at all well versed or read the "classics". Am highly skeptical about the Bard's contribution to modern English and can't understand poetry. And I don't really understand W.Somerset Maugham & P.G.Wodehouse. I guess you can call me a very insensitive reader...

OUTSTANDING BOOKS:
- Shantaram (Gregory David Roberts)
- The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
- Angels & Demons (Dan Brown)
- The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
- Doctors (Erich Segal)
- We The Living (Ayn Rand)
- Holy Blood Holy Grail (various)

BEST SF:
Battlefield Earth (L.Ron Hubbard)
The Mote in God's Eye (Niven/Pournelle)
Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
ALL BOOKS BY ISAAC ASIMOV

GRIPPING SHORT STORIES:
Frederick Forsyth, Jeffery Archer
Further Traveler's Tales from Heaven & Hell

LOATHSOME:
Catch 22 (J. HELLer)
Catcher in the Rye (J.D.Salinger)
 

QUOTES:

Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met.
(1 Lucifer 6:10)

The world is full of kings and queens,
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
(R. J. Dio - Heaven and Hell)

Don't thank me for insulting you, it was my pleasure
(R. Parwatay)

Look into my eyes and see who I am;
My name is Lucifer, come take my hand
(1 Lucifer 6:11)

The instinct of a man is to pursue everything that flies from him, and to fly from all that pursue him
(Voltaire)

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
(Aurelia Binoir)
 

*DISCLAIMER: Just like my personality, the description written above is totally fictional! Believe anything I say at your own risk and then don't say I didn't warn you!